Naturally, as an ex-politician, he has been saved the bother of having to apply for the position, or even worse been subjected to some sort of transparent merit-based selection process. Gary joins Alexander Downer, Sophie Mirabella, Peter Costello, Amanda Vanstone, and Nick Minchin, who have all received lucrative positions from the Abbott administration. According to its website, the Liberal Party believes in "maximising individual and private sector initiative" and small government. But when it comes to their own situation, Gary, Alexander et al find it hard to let go of that warm public teat and fend for themselves.

Mike Reddy, Lyons

Bank's Fluffy logic

The recent Commonwealth Bank offer of $10,000 for Mr Fluffy customers is more generous than any other bank assistance. We need to note, however, that it is only offered to customers who have a mortgage with the bank, not all customers.

This possibly then, represents a refund of less than a year's interest. Not to be sneezed at, however, what about retired bank customers who have been with the bank for most of their lives? They have worked hard to pay off their mortgages. Possibly now living on a pension, they have possibly paid 10 times that much in interest and charges over the years, but have been forgotten.

Still, well done to the bank for their generosity.

Maxine Edmonds, Scullin

Don't blame voters

Julian Cribb ("Wasting our time in the sun", Times2, December 11, p1) is pretty much on the money, but he kicks voters too hard for an uncaring attitude to "the depletion in our national capacity to succeed – and blaming our governments and politicians for their shortcomings in this regard". Shortcomings there are, in abundance; but we did vote in Rudd following his "the greatest moral challenge of our time" declaration from the pre-election pulpit. Bucketing the voters totally doesn't wash: come clean, surely you can't think it is they, rather than the cashed-up lobbyists and persuasive media, that our politicians actually represent?

As a newly minted PM, Rudd did throw a few rays of sunshine in the direction he so forcefully declared. But that was peanuts compared to the beneficence provided to major polluters: one great step for mankind perhaps; in the wrong direction.

Rudd deserved to be punished by the voters; but did the ordinary punters realise the absolute depths of turpitude of their only alternative? It was a situation where the two dominant players were (and are) at one in what has the appearance of malfeasance in vote preference deals which have no relevance to fair distribution. The speed at which we are running socially and environmentally backwards towards Christmas might have surprised quite a few.

Colin Samundsett, Farrer

A clean future

Life-threatening global warming during this anthropocene era is caused by the prodigious combustion of hydrocarbons derived from ancient plants and algae, resulting in atmospheric and local particulate pollution. Senior NASA scientist James Hanson declares that our only hope for a clean sustainable energy future lies in a new industrial revolution, from a carbon economy to a photon economy.

Driven by vested interests of the highly subsidised fossil fuel industry, our scientifically illiterate federal government has set the ludicrously low target of 5per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, contrasting with zero emissions by 2050 proposed by Norway and South American countries ("Australia sounds climate warning", December 12, p1).

Julian Cribb ("Wasting our time in the sun", Times2, December 11, p1 ) declares that our scientific and technological expertise gives us the potential to approach this target, given the social and political will.

Non-renewable polluting fossil fuel combustion for transport energy can be replaced by a non-polluting renewable hydrogen carrier, namely anhydrous ammonia (NH3), which powered New Orleans street cars from 1871, and buses in wartime Brussels. There is a well established industry for the manufacture, portage and storage of ammonia, which can now be synthesised locally using renewable energy, water and atmospheric nitrogen, with minimal GHG emissions.

Bryan Furnass, Hughes

Fly in the anointment

There is a world of difference between anointing and appointing a parliamentary candidate ("Labor elder John Faulkner resigns from Federal Parliament", canberratimes.com.au, December 11).

"Anointing", which is not mentioned in the Australian constitution, means endorsement of a successor by a retiring parliamentarian or by their party. It refers to the ancient practice of anointing the head of a king or priest with ointment or oil at his coronation or consecration (Messiah and Christ are the Hebrew and Greek words for anointed). Under the constitution, federal parliamentarians are "chosen" by the electors (sections 7 and 24). But when a casual vacancy occurs in a state's representation in the Senate, the vacancy is filled by a candidate "chosen" by the State Parliament (if in session) or "appointed" by the governor (section 15).

Michael McCarthy, Deakin

Cold is still trending

Peter Dark (Letters, December 9) suggests that the occurrence of over 40 degree maximum temperatures, more apparent in very recent years, is significant. Not so Peter. Like many extreme events, or outliers, they are so infrequent that no statistical significance can be attached. If a more reasonable number is selected, say 35 degrees, is any similar trend apparent? I doubt it.

Dark's comment suggests that the lowest extreme temperatures might also be expected to rise. I have data only for the past six years (BOM), however, the annual lowest temperature observed (Canberra airport station data) is fairly constant, -5 to -7 degrees. For a less extreme low temperature that is more frequently attained, say 0 degrees, the yearly figures for daily occurrences of sub-zero temperatures are: 2009 (54), 2010 (63), 2011 (87), 2012 (90), 2013 (69) and 2014 (70). Any trend? Canberra has been and remains cold!

Greg Jackson, Kambah

That was a very good article by Graham Downie ("Where is the proof light rail will be better?", Times2, December 10, p5). But I wonder if we're not too fixated on busways, road lanes restricted to buses. If we could get 50 per cent rather than 5.6 per cent of workers travelling by bus instead of car, we would have plenty of room on our existing roads.

We could also use much of the existing parking areas in Civic more profitably and we would greatly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

There are two big obstacles to achieving this, or possibly two aspects of the same obstacle. Canberrans feel deeply that buses are for losers, and ACTION runs a service for those who have no choice.

As a community we may not have the wit and wisdom to overcome these obstacles but we could find the expertise and hire it from somewhere in the world.

Jim Jones, Charnwood

It is not a question of light rail versus buses versus cars versus taxis versus bicycles versus walking. It is a question of getting the mix right. The view of most transport authorities is that buses and rail are complementary.

Light rail will go a long way towards making the bus system more efficient because buses will do what they do best and deliver people close to their destinations. Buses will feed in to light rail which will deliver people quickly, efficiently and for low operating costs along fixed trunk routes.

Bus systems are flexible. This means people cannot be sure that the bus that goes past their door today will do so tomorrow. With light rail we know it will be there tomorrow and we make the decision to locate our activities based on that certainty. This increases the value of land served by light rail, which in turn pays the capital cost.

Kevin Cox, Ngunnawal

Rex Williams (Letters, December 12) reverses both the law and key facts in so broadly condemning the US for the CIA's undoubted breaches of international humanitarian law.

While there is no doubt that CIA torture seriously contravened IHL, and the ethical standards expected of any liberal-democracy, the US military actually has a very good IHL compliance record in its detention of both prisoners-of-war and of captured terrorists not qualifying for PoW status under the Third Geneva Convention.

It was also the notable international precedent established by a 2006 US Supreme Court ruling (in the Hamdan case) that has effectively modernised and extended a key aspect of IHL by noting that such captured terrorists were still protected by Common Article 3 of all four Geneva Conventions.

Moreover, contrary to Rex's claim, David Hicks's undoubtedly lawful detention as a belligerent captured on the battlefield in Afghanistan – and Mamdouh Habib's necessary release from US custody after being originally arrested in Pakistan (i.e. not captured as a belligerent) – were both assured by the US' overall commitment to IHL, not the opposite.

Finally, Islamist terrorists continue to abuse, torture and murder captives in flagrant violation of IHL without even a skerrick of criticism from those prone to condemning the US.

IHL is universal and criticism of IHL breaches should be too.

Neil James, executive director, Australia Defence Association

Netanyahu greedy

In his latest missive on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict (Letters, December 11) Alan Shroot has again been economical with his facts. Yes, in November 2009 Netanyahu did announce a 10-month freeze on settlement construction. But the freeze excluded East Jerusalem altogether and did not include the 3000 housing units which had already been approved for the West Bank. The announcement was cosmetic only and had no real impact on settlement construction.

As the Oxford historian Avi Shlaim has commented, it was not unreasonable for the Palestinians to suspend their participation in the 2010 peace talks because, from the Palestinian perspective, "Netanyahu looked increasingly like a man who pretends to negotiate the division of a pizza while he keeps eating it".

Shroot also claims that the Americans consider it was the Palestinians who walked away from the recent peace talks despite Netanyahu believing that the stage had been reached where agreement was possible. But it is clear to any "objective, informed observer" (to use Shroot's words) that the Americans consider it was Netanyahu who sabotaged the talks. In that regard, a "senior Obama administration official" does not describe Netanyahu to a respected journalist as "a chickenshit" without a prior nod and a wink from their White House betters.

Justin McCarthy, London, United Kingdom

Palestinians twice bitten

How naive is Alan Shroot (Letters, December 11) to expect Palestinians to negotiate in good faith with the government of Israel? It would be gross stupidity to trust anything said by a government which has almost bombed Gaza into oblivion, not once but twice, harassed people trying to (legally) make a living from fishing, built a wall and checkpoints to frustrate movement by Palestinians to farms, schools, hospitals, families, etc, allows its citizens to take over Palestinian homes or demolishes Palestinian homes to build settlements, orders army attacks on Palestinian homes on the middle of the night, and allows its citizens to burn Palestinian olive groves and steal water rights and land from Palestinians.

What compromise by Israel does Alan Shroot have in mind?

Gwenyth Bray, Belconnen

Emergency fictional

The Abbott government justified the $7 GP co-payment as a means to address the "budget emergency". Yet most of the money to be raised was earmarked for new spending on a Medical Research Future Fund. Now, in order to make Medicare more sustainable, the rebate for a GP visit will be cut by $5. But none of this money will go towards making Medicare sustainable, rather it will go towards the same research fund.

Is it possible that the "budget emergency" is a fiction? If not, then the government's fervent resolve to address the "emergency" may be the fiction.

Harry Samios, O'Connor

Poor refugees suffer most

Robyn Stanhope (Letters, December 11), like her husband and many other of your correspondents, again ignores the situation for men, women and children who are cooped up in UN Refugee camps for much longer periods than those who have paid people smugglers to short circuit the system. And I suggest that those who persevere in making the claim that there is no queue, spend a little time in some of the UN camps from which I have helped foster families to Australia who have been there for five years or more and do not have the funds to pay people smugglers.

Ric Hingee, Duffy

Sedgwick's integrity

We should not permit Stephen Sedgwick to retire as Public Service Commissioner without acknowledging his outstanding contribution to the ability of public servants to provide the frank, honest and comprehensive advice, that they were legally required to provide under the Public Service Act 1999.

Under a long-standing Public Service Commission policy, public servants were threatened with disciplinary action, and/or loss of performance pay, if their "frank, honest and comprehensive" advice was based on anything other than pre-existing government policy, or referred to anything that they happened to personally believe.

Unlike previous Public Service Commissioners, Mr Sedgwick had the intelligence and integrity to change that policy, to bring it into line with the Public Service Act.

Leon Arundell, Downer

DENIAL OF ACCESS

It's obvious the crackdown on web downloading isn't an internet filter but a court-supervised access denial protocol, much in the same way the ABC budget was not cut but the object of a diminution in the funding quantum ("'It's not a filter': Malcolm Turnbull's anti-piracy crackdown wordplay defies logic").

Thos Puckett, Ashgrove, Qld

"When is an internet filter not an internet filter?" you ask. It must be when it's a "non-core" filter.

Poor Malcolm. He simply doesn't seem to understand that if you lie down with dogs, you're bound to get-up with fleas. And if it's a political dog, something even more serious!

John Richardson, Wallagoot, NSW

HOUSING ASSUMPTION

I wholeheartedly agree with Mary McDonald (Letters, December 10) that Mr Fluffy owners are being offered a raw deal. She has, however, erred in assuming that housing at a later date would have risen. In fact the opposite is now probable with Chief Minister elect Andrew Barr at the helm, coupled with a predicted downturn in the economy .

Mario Stivala, Spence

SOLAR POWER CAUTION

Advances in photovoltaic power generation are important ("Wasting our time in the sun", Times2, December 11, p1), but should be put in perspective. If photovoltaic sources cost nothing to build and run, and all sources needed for uninterrupted supply of electricity were rebuilt from scratch, how much would electricity cost?

Mike Dallwitz, Giralang

BLIND FAITH

How did America's president Herbert Hoover turn a recession in a great depression? He sacked public servants, cut pensions, and let markets rule. Tony Abbott sacks public servants. He has blind faith in markets. He belongs in the Dark Ages when ignorance reigned.

Graham Macafee, Latham

APOLOGY TO HICKS?

Guantanamo Bay has been branded the "gulag of our times" by Amnesty International. This place was a torture chamber, run by the Americans. Now will the Australian government say sorry to David Hicks, for his treatment by CIA thugs, as John Howard danced in tune to George Bush's war tom-toms?

Richard Ryan, Summerland Point, NSW

HATS OFF TO CHANGE

Peter, Tony and now Andrew – all hatless. Greeting the Queen of Australia at Fairbairn just won't be the same. How quickly things have changed.

Sarah Brasch, Weston

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